Eternity Hangs in Balance

2 Peter 3:13 “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

God dwells in eternity and we, even as believers, have an extremely limited understanding of what eternity is like. The average lifespan in the earth today is forty two years, while in some countries people can expect to live as long as eighty seven years on average, and in exceptional cases even longer. Nevertheless even a lifespan of one hundred years becomes completely insignificant when compared to eternity. In this present age, every person that leaves this planet when they die goes to one of two locations. They either go to heaven or they go to hell. Those who have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour go to heaven, while those who have rejected Jesus as Lord go to hell. Nevertheless, even though all of mankind go to either heaven or hell, neither of these locations are mankind’s final destinations, for both are merely temporary stopovers on our way to our final destinations. And so even though some have already been in those temporary stopovers for many thousands of years they are still waiting for their eternal destinations. For example, Adam’s second son Abel, who was the first person to experience physical death, has been resting in heaven for many thousands of years, while his older brother Cain, who murdered him, has been reserved under punishment in hell for a similar period of time. This example gives us just a little glimpse into what eternity is like, for even a timeline of thousands of years has no impact on eternity. So what is man’s final destination? In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit reveals to us that the final destination of all believers is the new earth that God the Father is still to create.

Revelation 20:13-15 “The Sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.  (14)  Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  (15) And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

As revealed to us in the above quoted passage of scripture all unbelievers, including those who are currently being tormented in hell, are destined to be cast for all eternity into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. And so we see that the final destination for each one when they leave this planet is an eternal destination. What most people don’t realise however is that what we do in our very short time on earth impacts our eternal destination. In fact our eternal destination is determined by just one decision that we make in this life, which is the decision to either accept or reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. That decision can only be made while we are alive on the planet, and everyone has the opportunity right up until the time they draw their last breathe to make that decision, nevertheless once that decision is made it is final. If we choose to receive salvation through Jesus Christ then we are born-again, and once we are born-again we have passed from death to life and are destined for our eternal home in God’s new earth. For those who choose to reject salvation through Jesus Christ, they remain spiritually dead and are destined for the eternal torment of the lake of fire and brimstone. And so we see that because the decision each one makes in this life can never be reversed once they leave this earth, their decision in effect becomes an eternal decision.

2 Timothy 4:1 “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom.”

We have seen in this section thus far that our eternal destination is determined by the one crucial decision that we all make while on the earth. But there is more to it than that, for although the one decision we make determines “where” we will spend eternity, it is not that decision that determines “how” each of us will spend eternity in our final destination. That is where eternal judgement comes in, for there is coming a day on which each one of us, believer and unbeliever alike, will be judged. In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit reveals to us that everyone will be judged by the Lord Jesus on that day. The living that He refers to are the believers, while the dead that He refers to are the unbelievers. What we will see as we examine the subject of eternal judgement is that each person’s short life on this planet will be judged in perfect detail and absolute impartiality. The result of that judgement for the believer will determine their place and inheritance in God’s kingdom for the rest of eternity, while the result of that judgement for the unbeliever will determine the degree of torment that they will suffer in the lake of fire for all eternity.

John 5:28-29 “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice (29) and come forth-- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”

What we will also see as we examine the subject of eternal judgement is that there will in fact be two separate judgements that will take place. We will see that each judgement is directly linked to the resurrection of the dead at the end of the age. In the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord refers to two resurrections. The first, He calls the resurrection of life, which is the resurrection of His saints, and the second; He calls the resurrection of condemnation, which is the resurrection of the unbelievers. And so we will see that the saints will be judged first at the resurrection of life, while the unbelievers will be judged second at the resurrection of condemnation.

Michael E.B. Maher

Eternal Judgement

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